Bracket and shelf apparatus for equipment enclosures

ABSTRACT

A compact storage bracket and shelf apparatus is disclosed for the interior of an equipment enclosure. The bracket is attached to the inner surface of an enclosure door. This forms a storage compartment for literature or the like to be maintained within the enclosure. The shelf is pivotally connected to the bracket to close in a very compact arrangement and to open with enough space for a service technician&#39;s laptop computer. The shelf may be opened and closed in a very easy manner and the opening and closing may be accomplished with one hand. The shelf is maintained in a closed position by use of a spring biased plunger, and a shoulder bolt is used to abut an edge of a shelf wall to support the shelf in an opened position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a bracket and shelf apparatus for equipment enclosures and more particularly to a compact storage bracket and shelf apparatus adapted to be attached to the inside of the front door of an enclosure containing data transmission equipment.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Free standing, out-of-door equipment enclosures are frequently used to contain data transmission equipment. Typically, the equipment enclosure has a main upper chamber for electronic components, a lower chamber for back-up batteries and side chambers for other equipment. The enclosures are generally weather resistant and tamper proof.

[0005] From time to time service technicians open the enclosures to service the equipment inside, perhaps by adding service lines or upgrading components. It is desirable that manuals and other literature be stored in the enclosure and be readily available for use by the service technician. It also is desirable that a work surface be available for a laptop computer often carried by service technicians. In the past, work surfaces were provided by attaching a panel to equipment racks inside the enclosure or by mounting the panel to the enclosure door. Neither arrangement provided for literature storage and both required cumbersome, two-handed assembly before use and then cumbersome disassembly upon completion of the technician's tasks.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The lack of a literature storage compartment and an effective shelf arrangement for equipment enclosures have been overcome by the present invention. What is described here is a compact storage compartment and shelf apparatus for an equipment enclosure comprising a generally channel shaped bracket adapted to be connected to a support surface, the bracket having a base, oppositely disposed walls connected to the base and a ledge portion also connected to the base wherein the base is spaced from the support surface for forming a storage compartment, a movable shelf pivotally connected to the bracket and supported by the bracket to allow movement of the shelf between a closed upper position and an opened lower position, the shelf having a generally flat surface which is positioned adjacent to the base of the bracket when the shelf is in the closed position and the generally flat surface extends away from the base of the bracket at approximately a perpendicular angle when the shelf is in the lower position, a first pair of surfaces, one of the first pair of surfaces being connected to the bracket and the other of the first pair of surfaces being connected to the shelf, the first pair of surfaces for engaging one another when the shelf is in the lower position, and a second pair of surfaces, one of this second pair of surfaces connected to the shelf and the other of the second pair of surfaces being connected to the bracket, the second pair of surfaces for engaging one another when the shelf is in the upper position.

[0007] There are a number of advantages, features and objects achieved with the present invention which are believed not to be available in earlier related devices. For example, one advantage is that the present invention provides a literature storage compartment and shelf space in one compact and effective arrangement. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus having a literature storage compartment and offering shelf space which apparatus is easy to use. Further, the apparatus takes little or no internal space from electrical components mounted in the equipment enclosure. A further advantage of the present invention is that the literature storage compartment and shelf system has few independent parts and no loose or unattached parts. Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a combined storage literature compartment and shelf apparatus which is simple, reliable and inexpensive and which can be installed at the time the enclosure is manufactured, or the apparatus can be retrofitted to existing equipment enclosures.

[0008] A more complete understanding of the present invention and other objects, advantages and features thereof will be gained from a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiment read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing provided herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an equipment enclosure and illustrated in dotted line is the compact literature storage compartment bracket and shelf apparatus of the present invention.

[0010]FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the present invention illustrating the shelf in an opened position.

[0011]FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the present invention illustrating the shelf in a closed position.

[0012]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a bracket of the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the bracket shown in FIG. 4.

[0014]FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the bracket shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0015]FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the shelf of the present invention prior to being fully formed.

[0016]FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a shoulder bolt of the present invention.

[0017]FIG. 9 is a partial exploded plan view of a spring loaded plunger of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] While the present invention is open to various modifications and alternative constructions, the preferred embodiment shown in the drawing will be described herein in detail. It is understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalent structures and methods, and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

[0019] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an equipment enclosure 10 of the type containing telecommunications, television cable and/or other data transmission equipment. This enclosure may be free standing and located out-of-doors. A compact literature storage compartment bracket and shelf apparatus 12, shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, is mounted to the interior of one of the enclosure doors, as indicated in dotted line. The apparatus includes a bracket 16, FIG. 2, having a generally U-shape which is attached to the inner surface 18 of the door 14. The inner surface of the door acts as a support for the bracket. The bracket may be attached in any suitable manner, such as by welding. Pivotally mounted to the bracket is a shelf 20. The shelf is shown in an opened lower position in FIG. 2 and in an closed upper position in FIG. 3.

[0020] Pivoting of the shelf occurs about two bolts, such as the bolt 22, and another bolt, not shown, at the opposite end of the bracket. Another projection, or two, such as the projecting shoulder bolt 24 is used to maintain the shelf 20 in the opened position. In this position the shelf is generally perpendicular to the bracket. A spring loaded projection or plunger 26 is attached to the shelf and is used to secure the shelf in its closed position as will be explained below.

[0021] The simple, reliable and inexpensive nature of the present invention may be seen by reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The bracket 16 may be formed from a single piece of aluminum plate with a base portion 30, oppositely disposed side walls 32, 34 and a bottom ledge 36. The base is shown with three openings 38, 40 and 42 and the walls and ledge also include a series of openings. For example, the ledge 36 includes eight equal size openings, such as the opening 44. The side walls 32, 34 each includes seven openings, such as the two small bolt openings 46, 48 at the lower end 50 of the side wall 34, and four equal size openings, such as the opening 52. A last, reduced size opening 54 toward the upper end 56 of the side wall 34 is provided to engage the plunger 26.

[0022] The bracket 16 may be formed of 0.125 inch aluminum plate whose configuration is stamped and bent to the geometry shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The bending operation results in rounded edges 53, 55 at the intersection of the side walls and the base portion. As shown in FIG. 2, when the walls 32, 34 of the bracket are attached to the support surface 18, a storage compartment, designated 59, is formed by the base, the walls and the ledge. This storage compartment may contain manuals, brochures and the like, such as the manual 61 drawn in phantom line. The front openings 38, 40 and 42 allow visual inspection of the literature in the storage compartment.

[0023] In a like manner, the pull down shelf 20 may also be formed from a single sheet of aluminum, 0.125 inches thick, which is stamped to the geometry shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Referring first to FIG. 7, the shelf has a large, generally flat center surface 60 and oppositely disposed integral side walls 62, 64. An integral front lip 66 is a structural member of the shelf and may also act as a tab to be pulled by a technician to lower the shelf. Pulling on the lip helps to move the shelf from the vertical closed position to the horizontal opened position. In FIG. 7 the shelf is shown as it would appear before the side walls 62, 64 and the lip 66 are formed. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the shelf is in its final configuration. Each of the side walls has two openings, such as the openings 68, 70 in the side wall 64 and the openings 69, 71 in the side wall 62. Each of the side walls includes an upper edge 72, 74. The height of the walls are reduced in size near the back edge 76 of the shelf. The reduced size portions act as abutment surfaces 80, 82 for stopping the pivoting movement of the shelf when it rotates from the closed position shown in FIG. 3 to the opened position shown in FIG. 2. The abutment surfaces 80, 82 engage projecting bolts, such as the bolt 24, to support the shelf in the opened, horizontal position shown in FIG. 2. It is noted that only one bolt may be used although two are preferred.

[0024] One of the primary purposes of the shelf is to provide a working surface for a laptop or portable computer or any other device or item used by service technicians. In order to accommodate these items, the width of the shelf from one side wall to the other is approximately 15.8 inches while the depth of the shelf is approximately 13.5 inches. Of course, other dimensions may be used.

[0025] Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, two oppositely disposed fasteners are provided to connect the shelf 20 to the bracket 16. For example, the bolt 22 passes through the opening 71 of the shelf wall 62 and the forward opening 48 of the bracket. An identical fastener passes through similar openings on the opposite side of the shelf and bracket although this is not shown in the drawing. A second pair of fasteners, represented by the shoulder bolt 24 is mounted in the rearward opening 46 of the bracket. An identical shoulder bolt may be mounted through a similar opening in the opposite side of the bracket. As can seen by reference to FIG. 8, the shoulder bolt includes a head 90 with a socket opening 92 for receiving a tool such as an Allen head wrench. To the left of the head 90 is a smooth shoulder 94 and to the left of the smooth shoulder is a threaded shank 96. The threaded shank 96 receives a threaded nut (not shown) so as to attach the shoulder bolt to the bracket. The surface of the shoulder portion 94 is configured to engage the abutment surface 82 so as to position the shelf approximately 90 degrees removed from the vertically disposed bracket and the support surface 18. In conjunction with the attachment fasteners, such as the bolt 22, the shelf supports any reasonable weight placed on the center surface 60. The shoulder bolts may be made of any suitable material such as stainless steel. A suitable shoulder diameter is 0.250 inches with an axial length of 0.25 inches.

[0026] Referring now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated in more detail the spring loaded plunger 26. The plunger includes a knob 100 within which is a spring connected to a retractable projecting stud 102 with a chamfer edge 104. The spring loaded plunger is attached to the side wall 62 of the shelf 20 by a threaded sleeve 106 which engages the plunger so as to sandwich the shelf side wall 62 between the plunger and the sleeve. The spring loaded plunger 26 is readily available from a hardware source such as Southco of Concordville, Pa. and sold under the designation of 56-99-197-20. When the shelf is closed, the stud 102 extends into the opening 54 in the bracket 16 and the outer surface 103 of the stud abuts or engages the wall 108, FIG. 2, formed around the opening 54.

[0027] In operation, the storage compartment bracket and shelf apparatus 12 is formed from two main parts, the bracket 16 and the shelf 20. These are put together using fasteners, such as the bolt 22 and may be attached to the inner surface 18 of an equipment enclosure door 14 by welding. This may be done at the time the enclosure is manufactured or it may be done by retro-fitting the apparatus to an existing equipment enclosure. When in storage mode, the shelf is in its closed position as shown in FIG. 3. In this position, the center surface 60 of the shelf is essentially parallel to the base 30 of the bracket. The shelf is maintained in this closed position by the spring loaded plunger 26 which is attached to the shelf side wall 62 and which engages the bracket by having the stud 102 of the plunger pass into the opening 54 of the bracket wall 34. As explained earlier, the apparatus is simple, reliable and relatively inexpensive. The apparatus is also compact so as to occupy a minimum valuable interior space in the equipment enclosure. When there is a need to perform work in the interior of the equipment enclosure and the enclosure doors are opened, the knob 100 of the plunger is pulled to retract the stud from the opening 54 in the bracket, and the knob may be used to lower the shelf. When the shelf is generally horizontal, the abutment surfaces 80, 82 strike the shoulders of the shoulder bolts, such as the shoulder 94 of the bolt 24. The shelf may support a piece of literature, a notebook or a computer. When the work is finished, the shelf is lifted, the stud is biased inward when the chamfer edge 104 engages the rounded edge 55 of the bracket, and when the closed position of FIG. 3 is reached, the stud springs into engagement with the wall of the opening in the bracket. This self or automatic latching is a convenience for the user of the shelf. When the shelf is opened, literature 61 and the like may be inserted or removed from the compartment 59 between the bracket base 30 and the support surface 18 of the door 14.

[0028] The specification describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention. Other modifications and variations will under the doctrine of equivalents come within the scope of the appended claims. For example, a captive screw fastener may be positioned on the shelf center surface 60 to engage an opening in the base of the bracket. Or, spring bias plunders may be attached to the bracket and engage holes or recesses in the shelf. More or less openings can be made in the bracket and in the shelf. Further, different types of fasteners may be used. These are all considered equivalent structures. Still other alternatives will also be equivalent as will many new technologies. There is no desire or intention here to limit in any way the application of the doctrine of equivalents. 

1. A compact compartment and shelf apparatus for an equipment enclosure comprising: a generally channel shaped bracket adapted to be connected to a support surface, said bracket having a base, oppositely disposed walls connected to said base and a ledge portion connected to said base wherein said base is spaced from the support surface for forming with said walls and ledge portion a storage compartment; a movable shelf pivotally connected to said bracket and supported thereby to allow movement of said shelf between a closed upper position and an opened lower position, said shelf having a generally flat surface positioned adjacent to said base of said bracket when said shelf is in said closed upper position, and said generally flat surface extending away from said base of said bracket at approximately a perpendicular angle when said shelf is in said opened lower position; a first pair of surfaces, one of said first pair of surfaces connected to said bracket and the other of said first pair of surfaces connected to said shelf, said first pair of surfaces for engaging one another when said shelf is in said opened lower position; and a second pair of surfaces, one of said second pair of surfaces connected to said shelf and the other of said second pair of surfaces connected to said bracket, said second pair of surfaces for engaging one another when said shelf is in said closed upper position.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said first pair of surfaces includes an edge surface integral with said shelf and a surface of a projection connected to said bracket.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said second set of surfaces includes a wall surrounding an opening in said bracket and a surface of a projection, said projection being connected to said shelf.
 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including: a support surface.
 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein: said support surface is a door of an equipment enclosure.
 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said shelf includes integral side walls, each of said side walls having an upper edge forming said other of said first pair of surfaces.
 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein: said projection is spring biased.
 8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said shelf includes side walls; each of said side walls aligns adjacent a wall of said bracket when said shelf is in said closed upper position; said one of said first pair of surfaces and said one of said second pair of surfaces are outer surfaces of first and second projections; said first projection is connected to said bracket; and said second projection is connected to said shelf.
 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said first pair of surfaces includes an edge surface integral with said shelf and a surface of a projection connected to said bracket; said second set of surfaces includes a wall surrounding an opening in said bracket and a surface of a projection, said projection being connected to said shelf; and said shelf includes oppositely disposed integral side walls connected to said generally flat surface.
 10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 including: a support surface wherein said support surface is a door of an equipment enclosure.
 11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein: each of said shelf side walls aligns adjacent a wall of said bracket when said shelf is in said closed upper position; said one of said first pair of surfaces and said one of said second pair of surfaces are outer surfaces of first and second projections; said first projection is connected to said bracket; and said second projection is connected to said shelf. 